Are we spoiling Dr. Bombay?

[HoopDiddyDiddy]

When Dr. Bombay arrived here on a Tuesday he was 15 grams.
The following Saturday he was 13 grams.
I freaked out at the loss of weight and doubled down to get as much food as possible into him.

That was two weeks ago- yesterday he turned nine weeks old and was 26 grams. In the interim he had a great big shed and now he has doubled his weight in two weeks.
Thing is- if I feed small Dubias he will eat 12 or 15 out of his dish and then go to his basking spot. But if I offer him more by hand he will eat another 5.
Same with BSFL- he'll eat half what is in the dish and leave but if I hand feed him he'll clean them all up.
And I've never seen him eat out of his salad bowl but if I hand feed him I can get 5-7 bites of greens into him.

His current schedule is greens as soon as he is sufficiently warmed up in the morning followed by Dubias around an hour later.
Then his lunch is BSFL, and his dinner is Dubias and ONE waxworm dessert every other day.
I have phased out the crickets and hope to keep it that way- he liked them but I'd rather not keep them.

I don't mind hand feeding at all but if I am creating a needy monster I'll stop.
So my question is- should I continue to hand feed or allow him to eat as he pleases?
I've never walked away and just left the dish of food just sitting there- should I try that? (I do NOT want any BSFL escaping and turning into flies- they drive our other pets nuts and it's just all best avoided.)
Or is the hand feeding fine as long as he is this young (9 wks) and tiny (26g)? He enjoys it, I enjoy it, and I'd love to get a bit more size on him before I back off pushing food.

 

[Terry15]

Juveniles should have 3 feedings a day of live bugs, as many as they can eat in about a 10 minute span. The last feeding being at least 2 hours before bed, so they have time to digest their food.

 

[HoopDiddyDiddy]

Juveniles should have 3 feedings a day of live bugs, as many as they can eat in about a 10 minute span. The last feeding being at least 2 hours before bed, so they have time to digest their food.

I got that.

But my question is as many as he will eat on his own OR as many as I can get him to eat by hand feeding as well?

 

[CooperDragon]

I don't see a problem with hand feeding if it's working for both of you. I find that it helps to build a bond. I'd offer as many as he wants even by hand feeding, but don't be forceful with it. They generally tend to show less interest/eagerness when they've had enough.

 

[HoopDiddyDiddy]

They generally tend to show less interest/eagerness when they've had enough.

That's just it- I don't want to foster complacency.
I like all my animals to be eager eaters and over feeding is not the road to that.
I allow my adult creatures to get hungry from time to time but don't think it is wise with a tiny baby.

I'll calm down eventually :wink: